Guarded finger nail clippers

ABSTRACT

A finger nail clipper in which front or side guards, or both, are attached to protect the user from cutting the soft skin of his fingers or toes; the guards include an adjustably mounted curved front guard, attached to the lower clipper jaw, which butts against the skin under the finger nail or toe nail to assure uniformly trimmed nails, and a side guard which is affixed to at least one side of the cutting element of one jaw member and projects alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member.

United States atet Keating GUARDED FINGER NAIL CLIPPERS Francis J. Keating, 44 E. North Ave., Lake Forest, 111. 62702 Filed: May 7, 1973 Appl. No.: 358,002

Inventor:

U.S. C1. 132/75.4 Int. Cl A45d 29/18 Field of Search 132/755, 75.4; 30/28,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1906 Smith 30/29 6/1958 David 6/1959 Guarding 132/755 [4 1 May 28, 1974 Primary Examiner-G. E. McNeil Assistant Examiner-Gregory E; McNeill Attorney, Agent, or FirmKinzer, Plyer, Dorn & McEachran [5 7 ABSTRACT A finger nail clipper in which from or side guards, or both, are attached to protect the user from cutting the soft skin of his fingers or toes; the guards include an adjustably mounted curved front guard, attached to the lower clipper jaw, which butts against the skin under the finger nail or toe nail to assure uniformly trimmed nails, and a side guard which is affixed to at least one side of the cutting element of one jaw member and projects alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures GUARDEI) FINGER NAIL CLIPPERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to finger nail clippers and more particularly concerns guarded finger nail clippers.

One problem found in cutting finger nails and especially toe nails is that of the skin getting in the way of the cutting edges and consequently being cut. Consequently, it is desirable to guard the skin from being cut by making it difficult for the cutting edge of the clipper to enclose surrounding soft skin.

Another problem in conventional finger nail clippers is that when a person who is normally right handed or left handed has to cut the finger nails on his right or left hand respectively, it is very difficult to align the clippers and cut while holding the clippers in his opposite hand. Consequently, it is desirable to have a guard which guides the clippers so that each nail will be cut a uniform length from the tip of the finger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thus, it is the object of this invention to provide a nail clipper with an adjustable guide to assure uniform clipping.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nail clipper with side guards to protect against cutting of soft skin alongside the nails.

Accordingly, the nail clipper of the present invention includes: an elongated upper jaw member having a downwardly directed cutting element at one end, an elongated lower jaw member having an upwardly directed cutting element at one end, securing means attaching the jaw members to each other at the ends opposite the cutting elements, with the free cutting element ends of the jaw members flexibly biased apart to separate the cutting elements from each other, and cam means for driving the free ends of the jaw members toward each other to close the cutting edges thereof on each other and sever a nail positioned between the cutting edges. A front guard member is mounted on and projects outwardly of the free end of one of the jaw members closely adjacent the cutting element of that jaw member, and an adjustable mounting means is attached to the one jaw member to mount the guard member on the jaw, allowing adjustment of the length of projection of the front guard member outwardly of its associated cutting member to control the depth of the nail cut to suit the needs of the user. Another embodiment of the present invention includes at least one side guard element affixed to the side of the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the users skin during severing of a nail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a nail clipper constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial exploded perspective view of adjustably mounted front guard means employed in the clipper of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a nail clipper constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an end view showing the cutting end of the clipper of FIG. 4; and,

FIG. 6 is an end view of a nail clipper comprising a further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 is a side view of a nail clipper 10 which includes an elongated upper jaw member 11 having a downwardly directed cutting element 12 at one end and an alongated lower jaw member 13 having an upwardly directed cutting element 14 at one end. The two jaw members 11 and 13 are connected, by securing means 15, at the ends of the jaw members opposite the cutting elements, so that the cutting elements 12 and 14 at the free ends of the jaw members are flexibly biased apart to separate the cutting elements from each other.

Clipper 10 includes a cam means for driving the free ends of the jaw members 11 and 13 toward each other to close the cutting elements 12 and 14 on each other and sever a nail positioned between the cutting edges. This cam means includes a post 16 which extends through holes 11a and 13a in the jaw members 11 and 13 respectively. The post includes a head 16a which is larger in diameter than the hole 13a so that the post will be firmly stopped against the outer surface of jaw member 13. The post 16 also includes a notch 16b which pivotly mounts a movable handle 18. The combined post and handle 18 are larger than the diameter of the hole 11a and firmly stopped against the outer surface of jaw member 11 so as to attach the post and handle to the elongated jaw members 11 and 13. The handle 18 includes a cam 19 which extends from the handle in a direction toward the upper elongated jaw. When the handle 18 is pushed in the direction of arrow A, the cam 19 drives jaw members 11 and 13 together so that the cutting elements 12 and 14 mounted on the free ends of the jaw members close on each other to sever material placed between the cutting elements.

A front guard member 20 is mounted so that it projects outward from the free end of the lower jaw member 13. The guard member 20 is adjustably mounted on jaw member 13 by a hold-down clamp 22 having a threaded projection 22a which extends through an opening 13b in the lower jaw member 13. The hold-down clamp is firmly attached with a retainer 21 which screws onto the threated projection 22a of the hold down clamp 22 so as to firmly clamp the front guard member 20 in place.

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1, showing the lower jaw member 13, a section of the securing means 15, and a section of the post 16. The front guard member 20 has a curved surface 20a which is shaped to buttagainst the skin of the finger tip when the nail clipper is used. The front guard member 20 also has two prongs 20b and 20c which extend through complimentary openings in the lower jaw member. The prongs can slide freely in and out of these openings as indicated by arrow B. The hold-down clamp 22 projects over each of the prongs 20a and 20b, and when the retainer 21 is firmly screwed on the threaded projection 22a of the hold-down clamp, the prongs 20b and 200 are securly clamped between the hold-down clamp 22 and the upper surface of the lower jaw member 13.

FIG. 3 shows a partial exploded perspective view of the clamping means used for adjustable mounting of the guard member 20. As seen therein, the front guard member 20 can be inserted into the openings 23 and 24 in the lower jaw member 13. Also shown in hold-down clamp 22 and its threaded projection 22a. When assembled, the prongs 20b and 20c of the front guard element 20 pass through the openings 24 and 23, respectively, and extend past the opening 13b in the lower jaw lever 13. The hold down clamp 22 is then placed so that the projection 22a passes through opening 13b, and the underside of the hold-down clamp is positioned with recesses 22b and 220 adjacent to the prongs 20b and 20c of the front guard element 20, respectively. The retainer 21 is then screwed on the threaded projection 22a to clamp the prongs 20b and 200 of the front guard member tightly between the hold-down clamp 22 and the jaw element 13.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a nail clipper 25 with an elongated upper jaw member 26 and an elongated lower jaw member 27. Securing means 28 attaches the ends of the jaw members opposite the cutting elements firmly together so that the cutting elements on the free ends of the jaw members are flexibly biased apart. Also shown is a mounting post 29 on which a handle 30, with cam 31, is pivotally mounted so that the jaw members 26 and 27 can be driven to close the cutting edges on the free ends of the jaw elements and sever material placed between the cutting edges. Side guard elements 34 and 35 are affixed to the opposite sides of the free end of jaw member 27 and project alongside the opposite sides 32a and 32b of the upper jaw cutting element. These side guard members 34 and 35 push back the skin around the sides of the nails, thus precluding the cutting of the users skin during the severing of a nail. Openings 36 and 37 separate the upper jaw element 26 from the lower jaw element 27 so that material cannot be out between the side guard elements 34 and 35 and the upper jaw element 26.

FIG. is an end view of the clipper 25, showing the cutting elements 32 and 33 at the ends of the elongated jaws 26 and 27, respectively. A partial view of the handle 30 and the post 29 are shown. The side guards 34 and 35 and sides 32a and 32b of the upper cutting element 32 are also shown. In this embodiment the cam, handle, and post work similarly to that described in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the invention utilizing a side guard 38 on only one side of the lower jaw 39. The cutting elements 40 and 41 extend to the outer edge of the jaws as shown in 40a and 41a opposite the side guard 38 and the indentation for the side guard 38a. Thus, one can use the side guard 38 to push back the skin on one side of the finger to clip a nail and then turn the clippers 180 and use the side guard to push back the skin on the other side of the finger nail. In all instances when references to cutting a finger nail is made, it also includes cutting a toe nail.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a combination nail cutter including the features of both embodiments of the present invention may also be constructed. Thus, a finger nail clipper can have both an adjustable front guard for guiding the depth of the cut, and either a single or double side guard to protect the skin from being cut. Accordingly, it is intended that any combinations of the single or double side guard and the adjustable front guard are within the scope of the invention.

I claim: 1. A nail clipper comprising: an elongated upper jaw member having a downwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof,

an elongated lower jaw member having an upwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof;

securing means attaching said jaw members to each other at the ends thereof opposite said cutting elements, with free cutting element ends of the jaw members flexibly biased apart to separate the cutting elements from each other;

cam means for driving the free ends of the jaw members toward each other to close the cutting edges thereof on each other and sever a nail positioned between the cutting edges;

a front guard member mounted on and projecting outwardly of the free end of one of said jaw members closly adjacent the cutting element of that jaw member; and,

adjustable mounting means for mounting said front guard member to said jaw member, for adjusting the length of projection of said front guard member outwardly of its associated cutting member to thereby control the depth of nail cut to suit the needs of the user.

2. A nail clipper in accordance with claim 1, including a side guard element affixed to the side of the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the users skin during severing of a nail.

3. A nail clipper in accordance with claim 2 including an additional side guard element affixed, on the side opposite from said side guard element, to the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding'cutting of the users skin during severing of a nail.

4. A nail clipper comprising: an elongated upper jaw member having a downwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof;

an elongated lower jaw member having an upwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof,

securing means attaching said jaw members to each other at the ends thereof opposite said cutting elements, with the free cutting element ends of the jaw members flexibly biased apart to separate the cutting elements from each other;

cam means for driving the free ends of the jaw members toward each other to close the cutting edges thereof on each other and sever a nail positioned between the cutting edges; and, v

a sideguard element, affixed to the side of the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the users skin during severing of a nail.

5. A nail clipper in accordance with claim 4, including an additional side guard element affixed, on the side opposite from said side guard element, to the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the opposite cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the users skin during severing of a nail. 

1. A nail clipper comprising: an elongated upper jaw member having a downwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof, an elongated lower jaw member having an upwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof; securing means attaching said jaw members to each other at the ends thereof opposite said cutting elements, with free cutting element ends of the jaw members flexibly biased apart to separate the cutting elements from each other; cam means for driving the free ends of the jaw members toward each other to close the cutting edges thereof on each other and sever a nail positioned between the cutting edges; a front guard member mounted on and projecting outwardly of the free end of one of said jaw members closly adjacent the cutting element of that jaw member; and, adjustable mounting means for mounting said front guard member to said jaw member, for adjusting the length of projection of said front guard member outwardly of its associated cutting member to thereby control the depth of nail cut to suit the needs of the user.
 2. A nail clipper in aCcordance with claim 1, including a side guard element affixed to the side of the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the user''s skin during severing of a nail.
 3. A nail clipper in accordance with claim 2 including an additional side guard element affixed, on the side opposite from said side guard element, to the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the user''s skin during severing of a nail.
 4. A nail clipper comprising: an elongated upper jaw member having a downwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof; an elongated lower jaw member having an upwardly directed cutting element at one end thereof; securing means attaching said jaw members to each other at the ends thereof opposite said cutting elements, with the free cutting element ends of the jaw members flexibly biased apart to separate the cutting elements from each other; cam means for driving the free ends of the jaw members toward each other to close the cutting edges thereof on each other and sever a nail positioned between the cutting edges; and, a side guard element, affixed to the side of the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the user''s skin during severing of a nail.
 5. A nail clipper in accordance with claim 4, including an additional side guard element affixed, on the side opposite from said side guard element, to the free end of one jaw member and projecting alongside the opposite cutting element of the other jaw member, for precluding cutting of the user''s skin during severing of a nail. 